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> While panel costs have continued to drop they stopped being a significant issue for adoption years ago. Prices that used to be incidental such as labor, inver
by fy20 5y ago
> While panel costs have continued to drop they stopped being a significant issue for adoption years ago. Prices that used to be incidental such as labor, inverters, and grid connections now make up an increasing share of insulation costs.
This is the biggest road block in the US (that and utilities not wanting to let people pay them less money). In Europe prices are typically around €1/W for a residential install - and even less if you include incentives. In the US prices are typically 2-3x that.
- pfdietz 5y agoResidential solar is largely a scam to game the utility rate structure, where the cost of the network (and having power available from it when you might need it) was rolled into the per-kWh rate. That doesn't work if enough customers install PV and have correlated expectation for backup power. Utility-scale PV just makes so much more sense than grid-connected residential solar. It's easier and cheaper to install. The objection that it uses more land is without merit in the US, where land cost is largely negligible.
- kwhitefoot 5y agoHere in Norway my electricity bill has three components that I pay to two different entities: I pay one company for the actual energy and the owner of the network for the fixed costs of the network and the cost of transporting the energy (the losses in the network).
- pfdietz 5y agoIt's not just the cost of the network and the cost of transporting energy, it's the capital cost of those generators sitting out on the network that need to be running when lots of people suddenly say "no sun, give me power". Norway is blessed with lots of hydro that can do that, though.